How refreshing of Ed to actually take a stand on an important international issue. He has declared himself a proud Zionist, supporter of Israel and opponent of boycotts:

“I take antisemitism very seriously. Any kind of delegitimisation of Israel is something we should call out for what it is and not tolerate it. I think the boycotts of Israel are totally wrong. We should have no tolerance for boycotts. I would say that to any trade union leaders.”

But is he as good as his word? Last year TUC fat cat Brendan Barber blustered: “there are parts of the settlement trade that consumer pressure simply cannot reach, such as the wholesale and catering industries, and that’s why we need a total ban. The TUC does not support a ban against Israel, but we do support a boycott of goods from Israeli settlements”. Unite has passed a motion to boycott Israel, as has Unison. Will Ed stand up to the bigoted union barons or was yesterday’s speech just weasel words?

GuidoFawkes Quote of the Day

“I read more bloggers now than mainstream columnists, because they’ve got more interesting things to say. Too many columnists today make you think, ‘Yeah, I think you’ve said that 10 times before and I’ve just noticed your column has not go a single fact in it’”.